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| November 2022 |
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| “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” — Madeleine L’Engle |
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| Lots of truth in that M. L’Engle quote, right? Especially in these days of rampant book banning. Anyway …. welcome to my Fall newsletter and here’s hoping you’re all enjoying Autumn, wherever you are! If you’re in school (elem, MS, HS, college, grad school) and are interested in having me do a virtual author visit, please click here. I can tailor my visuals and remarks to almost any topic related to writing and research for almost any age. |
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Featured Film Clip:
Patsy T. Mink posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014: |
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Fall Down Seven Times
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… Stand Up Eight! Isn’t that what we are always learning to do? And who better to remind us about resilience than the 2022 support awardees of the Patsy T. Mink Education Foundation for Low Income Women and Children. These young mothers were chosen from thousands of applicants and are pursuing degrees in fields ranging from Social Work to Engineering.
As you know, Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight—Patsy Takemoto Mink and the Fight for Title IX, illustrated by Toshiki Nakamura and published by Quill Tree Books, explores the many challenges faced by Mink, the first woman of color and the first Asian-American woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress. Here are some fast facts about Mink that you might have missed: |
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- She was refused admission to every medical school to which she applied, despite the fact that she was valedictorian of her HS class and her grades were higher those of the men who were admitted.
- She was admitted to the University of Chicago Law School under the “foreign” quota, even though, as a native Hawaiian, she was an American citizen.
- She won her first political race in Hawaii by going door-to door and meeting every voter personally.
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- She couldn’t take the bar (law) exam in Hawaii, because, by the laws at that time, she was considered a resident of her husband’s home state, Pennsylvania, where she herself had never lived.
- She was the first woman of color and the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress, where she served thirteen terms.
- She co-authored Title IX and was its champion through many subsequent challenges.
- She died in 2002, from pneumonia. Shortly after her death,Title IX was renamed the Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.
- In 2014, Barack Obama awarded Mink a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Her daughter Wendy accepted it on her behalf.
- Before Title IX, roughly 300,000 girls participated in high school sports in the U.S. Today, more than 3.2 million do.
- And yet, many schools continue to ignore the law and engage in sex-discrimination on a profound level. Read here about the 2022 class action lawsuit filed by students and families at the largest public HS in Mink’s home state of Hawaii.
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illustration © Toshiki Nakamura, from Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight,
written by Jen Bryant (Quill Tree Books) |
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| Listen, Listen! |
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| Are you on the road this Fall and weary of talk radio? Are you looking for a fun but inspired gift for a young friend or family member? We are SO pleased to tell you that both Feed Your Mind—A Story of August Wilson and Above the Rim—How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball are available as audiobooks! And not just ANY audiobooks: they are narrated by award-winning actors who breathe life into every phrase and page. Check out the audio versions of Above the Rim and Feed Your Mind. |
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| Recommended Books |
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| I'm excited about many books that were published recently, including these by my writer-friends:
How to Build a Human: In Seven Evolutionary Steps, by Pamela Turner
What Is A Friend?, edited by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong
Kick Push: Be Your Epic Self, by Frank Morrison
Celia Planted a Garden, by Phyllis Root, Gary D. Schmidt, illus. by Melissa Sweet
Mystery of the Monarchs, by Barb Rosenstock, illus. by Erika Meza
Ice Cycle, Poems About the Life of Ice, by Maria Gianferrari, illus. by Jieting Chen
We are Branches, by Joyce Sidman, illus. by Beth Krommes (coming May 2023) |
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